Boulder is still rolling in Fitchburg after 80 years

FITCHBURG -- For the past 80 years, The Boulder Cafe has been a Main Street mainstay, a welcoming place for all to stop in and have a drink, and stay for good conversation and camaraderie.

Past and current owners and a slew of regular customers celebrated the establishment's 80th birthday Tuesday -- complete with birthday cake -- and the celebration will continue Saturday.

"I want to thank our customers, through all the years, for making this day possible," former owner Chris Bicoules said. "I also want to thank Chris Bujold and his wife, Rhea, for continuing the good tradition. They've done a wonderful job here.

Fitchburg Mayor Lisa Wong, left, and The Boulders co-owner Rhea Bujold chat with Chris Bicoules, 92, one of the original owners of the bar, during its 80th birthday party Tuesday. SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / JOHN LOVE

Sentinel and Enterprise staff photos can be ordered by visiting our Smugmug site.

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Bicoules' father, Fred Bicoules, opened The Boulder Cafe on Feb. 4, 1934, just two months after the end of Prohibition on Dec. 5, 1933. The business stayed in the family until 2004, when it was bought by the Bujolds, who will celebrate their 10th anniversary of owning the bar in the fall.

After Fred Bicoules had a heart attack in 1948, Chris Bicoules, then 26, took over as general manager, with a great deal of involvement from other family members, until the business was sold in 2004. His father, who recovered from his heart attack, remained active in the business until his death in 1959.

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Chris Bicoules, who celebrated his 92nd birthday on Thursday -- ironically, the same day Chris Bujold celebrated his 40th -- remembers when his father opened the bar and how he had painted, in big red letters on paper lining the windows, "Beer! Beer! Buy it here!" He was only 12 at the time, but the memory of the bustling bar -- and a bustling Main Street -- has stayed with him.

Two years earlier, the city's iconic boulder was moved from Rollstone Hill to the Upper Common, inspiring the name for his father's establishment.

The Boulder Cafe on Main Street in Fitchburg turned 80 on Tuesday night, and many came out to celebrate.
SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / JOHN LOVE

Sentinel and Enterprise staff photos can be ordered by visiting our Smugmug site.

Bicoules said his father developed a friendship with city councilors at the time, and recalled how councilors frequented a meeting room at the bar.

"One of them was quoted as saying, 'More major decisions were decided in the meeting room than in the chambers of the City Hall,'" he recalled.

But Bicoules' favorite memory was when then-Democratic City Committee Chairman Bernard Moynihan brought young John F. Kennedy, then running for U.S. Senate, around the city.

"Bernie Moynihan was going to the Sentinel for an interview, and he walked right by my place, and when he came in front of the door, he said, 'Come here, Chris,' and he introduced me to the future president of the United States," Bicoules said, beaming.

Chris and Rhea Bujold, owners of The Boulder in Fitchburg, are all smiles as the bar celebrates its 80th birthday Tuesday night.
SENTINEL & ENTERPRISE / JOHN LOVE

Sentinel and Enterprise staff photos can be ordered by visiting our Smugmug site.

A framed photo of Kennedy has remained above the bar since the day after Kennedy was assassinated, according to the Bujolds. They've also kept a framed original menu on the wall, along with many Prohibition-era photos.

Chris Bujold, a lifelong Fitchburg resident, said the purchase of The Boulder Cafe had begun as little more than a real-estate transaction -- but it soon became apparent how much residents wanted the bar to stay open, and keeping it alive has been the right decision.

"We feel honored to continue in the tradition of what Mr. Bicoules has started," said Rhea Bujold, 38.

"And we feel the commitment to maintaining what he has invested so much of his life into -- remaining a strong part of the Fitchburg community," Chris Bujold said.

"If you haven't read the book, this is 'The Tender Bar,'" longtime customer Bob Beck said. "'The Tender Bar' was a place where a young kid went for education and refuge, and they took care of him and fed him and tended to his needs. Now, some of us that come here to be tended to our needs are not young children, but the story's the same. It was the neighborhood bar."

Mayor Lisa Wong, who presented a citation from the city Tuesday, said it's still one of the favorite places in the city for young professionals.

"I absolutely love the atmosphere in here," she said. "I hope all the young professionals that might be moving into the city, like down the street at the River Street mills, discover this place for themselves and find themselves to be part of the community."

The 80th birthday celebration will continue Saturday, from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., and will include 1930s-era costumes and a variety of live acoustic music.

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